Whilst in Hastings, Matteo and Stefano had a taste of English family life, staying with Tony and Dawn Mitchell in Grovesnor Crescent. In between their daily English tuition at Hastings College, the boys found time to visit London twice and spent time socialising with other language students from the college, including young people from Poland, Spain and Latvia. ‘We have made some good friends’ said Matteo. ‘We’ll be keeping in touch on Facebook’.

The two boys will be returning home to a town that is starting to return to normal after the earthquake, which measured 6.3 on the Richter Scale. 30,000 new apartments are under construction in L’Aquila, although some residents are still living in tented accommodation.

Tino Santonocito, the Summer School Co-ordinator at the college, said ‘Both boys have been fantastic students and guests – it’s been a pleasure having them around. We wish them all the best for their future’. Stefano plans to study Chemistry at Uni back in Italy, while Matteo wants to study economics.